LI teen first Häagen-Dazs Flavor Ambassador

Jonathan Beer’s passion for the cold and creamy has scored him a noble title at Häagen-Dazs -- "Flavor Ambassador."

The Woodmere resident earned the title after winning the inaugural Häagen-Dazs Flavor Ambassador contest, held by the ice cream giant on Facebook. Beer, 17,  filmed himself reminiscing about the first time he wandered into the Cedarhurst franchise as a kid and bought his brother some ice cream with his own money.

“It’s very good ice cream,” he said, smiling. “If I can be the representative then that’s cool.”

Beer went into Häagen-Dazs on free-cone day in May and ordered up his favorite, chocolate. He laid eyes on a sign advertising the contest and pondered participating for a while. He ended up uploading his video just hours before the submission deadline. His win was celebrated Thursday at an ice cream social for him, his friends and parents Michael and Roni Beer at the Cedarhurst location.

Dawn Uremovich, president of Häagen-Dazs Shops, a branch of the company that focuses on franchises, also showed up for the occasion. She said Beer’s passion excited members of the ambassador board, which narrowed its worldwide search to five finalists. Beer’s entry then earned the most ‘likes’ on Facebook.

“He was so engaging with everybody,” she said. “. . . he’s got the passion and he’s got the energy. This is something he’s going to talk about for the rest of his life.”

The salary for his year-long position with Häagen-Dazs is free ice cream, and he’ll also have a vote in which new flavors, called White Pints, will be unveiled to the public. Roni Beer, who claims responsibility for her son’s love of ice cream, hopes he’ll rope her into some of the tests.

“I thought it [the contest] would be a unique opportunity for him to sort of come out of his shell,” she said of Jonathan, who'll be a senior at Ramban Mesivta in Lawrence, adding that his success is sure to appear in his college application essays this year.

Check out Jonathan Beer's award-winning entry here.

 Photo: Jonathan Beer, 17, Woodmere,   Häagen-Dazs Flavor Ambassador. (Aug. 4, 2011)